In an unprecedented move, US Special forces troops will be permanently stationed in Taiwan, Republic of China. According to Taiwan’s United Daily News (UDN), the American 1st Special Forces Group is deployed for a permanent training mission on the island.
The 1st Special Forces Group is permanently stationed this year at two bases of the 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion, a Taiwanese army special operations force. Some of the US troops are based on Kinmen, a group of Taiwanese-controlled islands 10 kilometers from Xiamen, a Chinese port city. Another group is located on the Pescadores islands off the Taiwanese coast.
American troop presence in Taiwan contradicts China’s “One China” policy, where the US is expected to recognize Beijing as the legitimate government of all China, including Taiwan. US has sent training missions to the island before but none has been reported to be permanent.
US troops’ positioning facilitate intelligence gathering on movements in the Taiwan Strait and on the Chinese coast including Chinese naval and air force bases located in Xiamen. At a military base in northern Taiwan, American troops also train the Taiwanese military in the use of drones for its Airborne Special Service Company, an elite special forces unit.
The US or Taiwan did not provide details on the number of US trainers or the training. In 2021, President of Taiwan officially confirmed only that American special forces were training Taiwanese troops. The US Defense Department acknowledged the presence of 30 American soldiers, but only to guard American Institute in Taiwan, an unofficial US embassy in Taipei.
No comment was made on the training mission by the U.S. Defense Department spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners. Meiners, emphasizing American commitment to Taiwanese security, said “I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China.”
Under the presidencies of Trump and Biden, the US has increased arms sales, and stationed trainers in Taiwan. Moreover, a Taiwanese military contingent was scheduled to travel to the US for training by the Michigan National Guard, and annual exercises with multiple countries.